One way Logic
 

Can someone explain the logic behind charging a HUGE amount of money for a one way ticket?

For example, I'm looking at a ticket from XXX to YYY one way for 650. However, a round trip (even without a Saturday stay over) is 396.00.

I know all airlines do it, I know it has been that way forever.. but WHY? I don't get it!

Who says there is logic? I suspect it probably dates back some time when there were fewer flights and airlines wanted to balance the eastbound and westbound loads. But that's just a guess.

My favorite episode of "fare games" was a few years ago when I needed to fly a friend one-way to the midwest. I tried SFO ORD, but found no non-stop flights available, and the lowest fare was $800+ (through DEN). Then I tried SFO SUX (Sioux City), the the fare was $120, including a non-stop leg from SFO-ORD! Now, where's the logic in that?

airfares, logic? Ha Ha Ha. You crack me up. :D

If the price were equivalent to half the r/t fare the traveler may decide to fly on one airline outbound and on another for the return because that is the most convenient route/time for the traveler. If they insist on doing that they might as well pay more for the privilege. So goes the logic of the airlines that are in or close to bankruptcy.

Also, if you have to fly one-way that means you might need flexability on your return.

And airlines have those handy round-trip Y-fares for those situations. :D

So they charge ya half the Y fare, I imagine. ;)

The logic (if it can be called that) is that the airline wants your business. They want you to return on Ariline X, not fly out on Airline X and return on Y Airways. Therefore, roundtrips are less expensive and more attractive deals.

Does that make enough sense? I hope so, that's the best I can explain it :-)

Since you can't enforce a minumum stay (Saturday night stay) rule on a one-way ticket, it makes sense that it would be half of an unrestricted full-fare ticket...

(at least from the perspective of the airlines and yield management...)

Dan

This might be a dumb question but can you purchase a round trip ticket but only use the leg that you want (since it's cheaper)? :confused:

Yes, you can. Just don't try to combine your half-used ticket with another half-used ticket for the purposes of circumventing minimum-stay or Saturday-night-stay rules.

There's an earlier thread here on the topic, but the search engine is saying that the words 'one' and 'way' are too short to search on...:confused:

And welcome to FlyerTalk! ^

Traditional round trip discount
 

The custom of giving a discount for a round trip purchase goes back a long way. However, the discount was in the range of 10 to 30%. The airlines have merely .......ized the concept.

In the example given, a round trip fare of 396 would be 198 for each way. So we see that a one way fare of 650 gets discounted to 198, a whopping $452 discount!

It's all about supply and demand. Airlines know that people who are buying one way tickets generally are willing to pay a lot. Same deal with the saturday night stay. Doesn't cost the carrier any more, but they know that business travelers who don't want to stay a saturday night will pay a lot. I think that lots of business travelers often do manysegments on a trip and need one ways.

UA may lose grandma once in a while traveling from SFO-ORD by charging $800. Grandma will just go to SJC and take southwest. However if UA gets the business traveller to pay $800, they come out ahead. Better to sell one ticket for 800 rather than two for 150.

Hey nerd - thanks for the response to my question and the welcome! :cool:

Responding to the question by Cajun Storm:

Nerd's advice is correct. Some airlines are rumored to use software to detect what is called "back-to-back" ticketing to avoid restrictions on restricted fares.

There is another aspect of caution to keep in mind. What you (Cajun Storm) has described is what I think is usually called "throw-away" ticketing. Some airlines have rules prohibiting it. All of them frown upon it. But it is not against any law of the land to do it. Most very frequent travelers have done it from time to time. I've not heard of anyone's mileage account being audited for this practice.

Never mention your intention to only use a portion of your ticket to airline personnel while you are buying or using a round-trip ticket that you'll only use one-way. If your one-way plans become clear while buying, checking in or making a connection, then it is possible for them to demand that you pay the one-way fare. But once again, I think it's highly unlikely that any airline would come after you if you fail to show up for the return portion.

UA and the others lose a lot more than grandma with this. If they didnt they wouldnt be bankrupt.

Back-to-backs
 

If you do want to back-to-back, just do it on two separate airlines. You give up the miles on the first, but your cost is a lot less.

Mike